From Mixtapes to Sex Tapes: The Year in Music 2012

This year, the line between music stardom and tabloid celebrity disappeared. Only problem: It came at the expense of the music itself. We used to wake up banging Kanye beats; now we wake up to TMZ's KimYe tweets. The exception came from King Jay and Queen Bey, who handled the shitstorm around their pregnancy regally, controlling the narrative from baby bump to first photos. Then, two days after baby Blue was born, Jay released "Glory"—a beaming hip-hop lullaby about his pride and joy. It was perfect: The tabloids were clawing for a pound of Jay's flesh; instead he gave fans a piece of his heart.—Will Welch

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One Bubblegum Pop Band That Doesn't Blow: Fun

There's no question that the year's most overplayed song was Fun's "We Are Young." But hate the radio and the Chevy ad, not the band. Because in a world of posturing, nonsinging indie groups, we need Fun frontman Nate Ruess. On the band's second single, "Some Nights," he belts out What do I stand for? with a deranged passion only found on Broadway or in '70s bands like Kansas. One salty critic recently called Fun "warmed-over Queen." All we could think was, Fuckin'-A right!—Will Welch

Technically, this is a 400-page interview with Will Oldham, who has written some of America's best folk rock as Bonnie "Prince" Billy. But halfway in, I found myself reading it like a self-help book. Oldham is always portrayed in the press as weird, but the only thing weird is that—unlike those of us for whom life is a steady string of compromises and cave-ins—he is tenacious about exclusively doing things he believes in. It's an extraordinary way to live. I'm rereading in hopes of inching closer.—W.W.

Hip-Hop's Style Whisperer of the Year

A$AP Rocky

Stylewise—and in many ways musically—this year belonged to that pretty motherfucker, Harlem's own A$AP Rocky. By late summer, scores of rappers were carbon copies of 'SAP. Not that it's difficult to jack his look: He name-checks designers more than a girl stuck at the velvet rope during Fashion Week. Labels like Rick Owens, Givenchy, Balmain—they dominated hip-hop, and this guy is to thank-slash-blame. Hell, if folks could grow braids overnight, we'd have seen more of those, too.—Mark Anthony Green

"Every year, more of the good shit coming out is made by women," says Claire Boucher, a.k.a. Grimes. We agree. Upon the release of Visions, Grimes drew nods to Kate Bush and primed us for the return of Fiona Apple and Cat Power. The year served as a reminder that, with all respect to K-Pop tweens, women don't have to sound or look like cartoons to win our hearts. "I love Katy Perry," Grimes says. "But there's a lot psychologically that distances me. I feel like I'm Phil Spector, but I use myself as the vessel to make the art."—Lizzy Goodman

The songs that make up Father John Misty's darkly hilarious debut album, Fear Fun, are cosmic-joke tales of excess gone awry—which makes sense, since the album began with a misguided vision quest Josh Tillman had a few years back. At the time, Tillman was the drummer for Fleet Fos, as well as "J. Tillman," a singer-songwriter behind several brooding acoustic albums. But after years of somber solo gigs, the lonesome-folkie shtick was nagging. "I was more entertaining when I was bullshitting between songs," says Tillman. "People would be smiling; then I'd play my songs of despair and they'd glaze over. I became sick of the whole enterprise."

And thus his breakdown-slash-breakthrough in the backwoods of Big Sur: Tillman took 'shrooms, ditched his clothes, and climbed a tree. "I spent a lot of time laughing at my fey attempt at cultivating a spirit journey," he says. "It ended in blundering hilarity. But I realized that the scope of my creativity is far broader than I ever allowed it to be."

Thus was born Father John Misty and our favorite rock album of the year—a shaggy-dog story of Cali-boho hedonism. "I'm just getting off on being this hobo clown," Tillman says. "When I play the old songs, it's like I'm wearing someone else's underwear."—Brian Raftery

From Mixtapes to Sex Tapes: The Year in Music 2012

Did you hear John Mayer is doing the Devil's duet with Katy Perry? Did you hear Kim Kardashian's rapper boyfriend has an unreleased sex tape? Did you hear Taylor Swift is now a Kennedy? Yeah, OMG—we heard it all. One question, though: Did anyone hear any music? We did, and we're here to catch you up on all the hits, comebacks, albums, and bands you missed in 2012

This year, the line between music stardom and tabloid celebrity disappeared. Only problem: It came at the expense of the music itself. We used to wake up banging Kanye beats; now we wake up to TMZ's KimYe tweets. The exception came from King Jay and Queen Bey, who handled the shitstorm around their pregnancy regally, controlling the narrative from baby bump to first photos. Then, two days after baby Blue was born, Jay released "Glory"—a beaming hip-hop lullaby about his pride and joy. It was perfect: The tabloids were clawing for a pound of Jay's flesh; instead he gave fans a piece of his heart.—Will Welch